Abstract:

Men's reluctance to seek psychological help appears to be related to a discrepancy between values and behaviors of the traditional male role and values and behaviors commonly associated with the counseling setting. The view that men must adopt traditional feminine ways of relating and coping to engage in and receive value from therapy has been challenged recently. Alternative interventions may be more attractive to some men who need help, but are unwilling to enter therapy.This study assessed: (a) the influence of male role socialization on help-seeking and (b) men's preferences for and expectations of different therapeutic orientations. It was proposed that more traditional men would be less likely to seek help for a serious psychological concern, but would be more attracted to interventions that reflect values consistent with traditional male ways of coping if they were to seek help (solution-focused and cognitive-behavioral therapy). Additionally, it was proposed that men expect psychologists to use interventions that require expression of more feminine characteristics and behaviors (psychodynamic and person-centered orientations).Undergraduate males (N = 259) were recruited from intact classrooms at a large midwestern university. Three gender role measures were administered to assess traditional masculinity ideology, and male role stress and conflict. Subjects viewed a video of a male client describing a serious personal problem and were asked about their likelihood to seek help if they were experiencing this problem. They were also asked to report their preference for and expectation of four therapy orientations if they were to seek help.Males who endorsed more traditional ideology and experienced greater role conflict were less likely to seek help for the videotaped problem. Males less likely to seek help preferred that their psychologist employ a solution-focused orientation if they were to seek help. Participants expected their psychologist to employ person-centered and psychodynamic orientations more often than solution-focused or cognitive behavioral orientations. Prior experience in counseling also affects preferences.Conclusions support the idea that some males view the counseling setting as a poor fit and may prefer and access interventions that more closely represent male ways of relating and coping.